The Road Back Home
by Lunarelle
Summary: Ash, Misty, and Brock are returning home after the Johto League. Ash realizes he likes Misty. A cute little scene ensues. - Disclaimer - All characters belong to The Pokémon Company, not to me!


Home was near. The grass was greener here than it had been anywhere else, and the air smelled fresh and clean. All of them had missed home while they'd been in Johto, and despite all the fun they'd had there together, they were ready to see their families again and take a well-deserved break.

"I'm sorry you didn't win the Johto League, Ash," said Misty, noticing how quiet he had been since his defeat.

"Are you upset because you sent Charizard and Squirtle back?" asked Brock.

Ash looked up, and Pikachu nuzzled him, also having noticed that he was down. "No, that's not it. But I've decided to go to Hoenn."

"That doesn't surprise me, Ash," said Brock, grinning. "There are lots of new Pokémon there to discover.

"Yeah, I know. And I can't wait to get there after I spend some time at home. You guys are coming with me, right?"

Brock appeared to hesitate, "I'm not sure. I have to see whether my father will want me to stay home for a while. It's possible. He's not used to taking care of my brothers and sisters by himself, although he's been doing it for nearly three years."

Ash looked towards Misty, a slightly hopeful look on his face, "What about you, Misty? It wouldn't be the same without you."

Misty was looking very interested in her shoes, "I called Daisy just before we left Johto, and she told me that she and my other sisters want to travel around Kanto for a few months. They want me to stay home and take care of the gym."

Something seemed to extinguish itself inside Ash's heart, but he didn't exactly recognize it for what it was. "You're not coming at all?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"I'm really sorry, Ash, I wish I could." Misty looked up, but kept her eyes away from him. She looked like she was about to cry. "But maybe I'll be able to join you when my sisters come back.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I understand."

They kept walking, not saying anything else for a while. Ash felt weird. He didn't know how he was going to manage without his friends around. Sure, he'd grown up since he'd first started his journey with Pikachu, but he'd realized that it was a lot more fun to share the adventure with his friends.

"Ash…"

He looked back towards Misty, then quickly face forward again, "It's okay," he said finally. "Pikachu and I can manage on our own. It'll be different. I'll call you guys with updates as often as I can, how's that?"

"That sounds really good!" Brock's voice was relieved, but had Ash looked at him, he would have seen understanding in his eyes. "Just as long as you put Nurse Joy on the phone too so that I can see her. I wonder if the Nurse Joys in Hoenn look as beautiful as they do here and in Johto!"

"You're hopeless, Brock," muttered Misty.

Brock didn't seem to hear her. "Ah, the Nurse Joys of the world! Beautiful, delicate as flowers, with voice as clear as bells, and with eyes that twinkle like a thousand stars!"

"Give it up already, Brock," said Ash, but he was smiling.

"I can't help it."

"We know," said both Ash and Misty together.

They had reached a crossroads. One of the roads led to Cerulean City and Pallet Town, while the other one led to Pewter City. Brock looked around.

"I'm really gonna miss you two. Will you be able to get home without killing each other?"

Misty winked, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Ash doesn't get lost."

"What?" Ash sounded indignant. "I've traveled through here before! I know where to go!"

Brock began to laugh, "It's funny to think that we're here again. I mean, we've been away for so long, I didn't think this time would come."

"We sure had a lot of fun, didn't we?" said Ash.

Misty nodded, "Yeah, and we caught some great new Pokémon too!"

"I guess all good things must come to an end." Brock extended his hand to Ash, "I'll let you know if I can come to Hoenn, but I'm not making any promises."

"Okay." Ash shook his hand. "Say hi to your dad for me."

"I will." He turned towards Misty and gave her a quick hug, "Bye Misty. Take care of yourself."

"You too. And don't forget to call sometime."

And just like that, Ash and Misty were alone again, like they had been two and a half years previously. He was nearly thirteen, and Misty was almost fourteen now. They'd grown together, both as people and as Pokémon trainers.

They started walking again after Brock had faded from sight. It was a little odd to be alone that way, and Pikachu, feeling that there was something between them that he wasn't really a part of, hopped down from Ash's shoulder and walked ahead, looking back every once in a while to make sure they were still there.

They were quiet. Misty kept looking at Ash's hand, wanting to hold it, but afraid of what he might do. Something told her that maybe, just maybe, he would be okay with it, but she was so scared of his reaction. What if he said he didn't like her? What if he said that he _did_ like her?

The sun was starting to set, the sky turning a perfect blend of colors, light fading towards dark. On the horizon, they began to see the lights of Cerulean City. Misty was almost home.

"I wish I'd been able to get you your bike," said Ash suddenly. His voice was low, almost hoarse, and he cleared his throat once.

"That's okay… I mean, I would have probably left sooner if you'd done that."

"I wouldn't have liked that." Ash felt his cheeks growing warm. "I'm going to miss having you around to yell at me."

Misty swallowed a lump in her throat, "I only yell at you because I like you, Ash." Suddenly, she couldn't look at him at all, and just stared down at Togepi's head. Her hands felt cold, despite the warm breeze blowing over them.

"I like you too, Misty." Ash's words were mumbled, but she understood him.

"You… you do?"

"Yeah." He glanced at her, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Ash."

They both stopped walking and turned towards the road that would lead Misty down to the city.

"Well, I guess this is it." He said. His voice wasn't above a whisper. He couldn't manage to make himself sound normal. He'd never felt this way before, and he wasn't sure he liked it. He felt clammy, as though he had a fever, and he was having a hard time catching his breath.

"I guess so." Misty bit her lip to keep it from trembling. Togepi hopped down from her arms and joined Pikachu, who caught it and began to play with it.

Ash reached towards her, his hand touching hers. Misty looked at him as a lonely tear fell from her right eye.

"Don't cry, Misty," he said. He didn't know what he was doing, but he was doing it. He was close to her.

He pulled her close, meaning to hug her, but it didn't quite happen that way. Their foreheads bumped, and they jumped away from each other.

"Ouch!" he hissed, rubbing his forehead. "How do people do this?" His cheeks felt really warm. On the side of the road, Pikachu was trying not to laugh, and Togepi looked really confused. Misty, for her part, was looking anywhere but at Ash.

"Okay, well," she said. "I guess I should go."

"Yeah," said Ash. "I guess you should. I'll see you around, Misty. I'll come and say hello before I go to Hoenn."

Misty picked up Togepi, "Goodbye, Ash."

"Bye, Misty."

She began walking away. Ash watched her go until Pikachu tugged at his leg.

"What is it, Pikachu?"

"Pika… Pikapi." He pointed towards Misty.

"I dunno, buddy…"

But he _did_ know.

A moment later, he was running towards her. She turned to face him, her cheeks wet with tears. She didn't move when he got close to her, only held Togepi a little tighter.

Ash started to say something, then thought better of it. Slowly, he leaned towards her, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was very soft, a feathery touch, but it was enough. His heart skipped several beats before beginning to beat normally again when he pulled away. Misty's cheeks were as red as summer apples, but she seemed happy.

"I really will come and see you before I leave."

"Okay, Ash. Have a safe trip home."

"You too, Misty."

He watched her go again, and this time, unable to stay standing, just sat down in the middle of the road. Pikachu came and perched on his shoulder. He couldn't be sure because of the fading light, but it seemed as though Pikachu was blushing.

"You know, I think I'm beginning to understand the way Brock feels when he's around Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny…"

 **The End**


End file.
